Beethoven & Assad
Kristo Kondakçi, conductor & Music Director Finalist
Adrian Anantawan, violin
COLERIDGE-TAYLOR
Ballade for Orchestra
ASSAD
Violin Concerto
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 7
Kristo Kondakçi, conductor
Adrian Anantawan, violin
Benefiting Shelter Music Boston
About the Community Partner
Shelter Music Boston delivers monthly chamber music concerts to
Greater Boston homeless shelters and substance misuse recovery centers, providing classical music as a social service.
Every note invests in the capacity of classical music to create social change
in environments of great need.
We believe all people deserve access to the dignity, creativity, and passion of classical music. Learn more >>
About the Music Director Finalist
Photo by Joel Benjamin
Kristo Kondakçi, conductor
Kristo Kondakçi is the music director of the Kendall Square Orchestra, the Narragansett Bay Symphony, and the Eureka Ensemble. He has distinguished himself as a talented young conductor of symphonic and operatic repertoire.
Kristo made his professional debut with the Albanian National Orchestra in 2014. He made his European opera debut with the Vienna Summer Music Festival Opera in 2018 and his U.S. opera debut with Boston’s Enigma Chamber Opera in 2020.
The first conductor ever to be officially hired by a biotech company, Kristo helped form Kendall Square Orchestra (K²O) in 2018, building a roster of over 70 musicians representing 50+ companies. In 2019, Kristo conducted K²O’s inaugural Symphony for Science at Boston’s Symphony Hall. Symphony for Science, now an annual event, has raised over $120,000 to support local charities.
Kristo launched Eureka Ensemble in 2017 with cellist Alan Toda–Ambaras to nurture social impact through music, partnering with acclaimed artists such as violist Kim Kashkashian and violinist Midori to deliver community-intensive programming and performances at the highest level of excellence. His projects with Eureka, such as The Women’s Chorus and Boston Hope Music, have been widely-praised by PBS, NPR, the Boston Globe and NowThisNews, among others.
Kristo has served as interim director of orchestral studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (2019), leading the graduate conducting program in addition to conducting the university orchestras. He has also made a significant contribution to the musicological research of Gustav Mahler’s music through his reconstruction of the original version of Mahler's 1st Symphony (2012). He currently teaches young conductors in a private studio and coaches chamber music at Harvard University as a non-resident music tutor with Pforzheimer House.
Off the podium, Kristo directs a leadership development program with Kendall Square Orchestra called The Leading Tone: Transforming Business Through Music. The program, still in its early stages, has seen strong demand from corporate and executive leaders and companies all over the world, including PWC and Kinden Corp.
About the Soloist
Adrian Anantawan, violin
Adrian Anantawan holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music, Yale University and Harvard Graduate School of Education. As a violinist, he has studied with Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman, and Anne-Sophie Mutter; his academic work in education was supervised by Howard Gardner. Memorable moments include performances at the White House, the Opening Ceremonies of the Athens and Vancouver Olympic Games and the United Nations. He has played for the late Christopher Reeve, Pope John Paul II, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Adrian has performed extensively in Canada as a soloist with the Orchestras of Toronto, Nova Scotia, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Montreal, Edmonton and Vancouver. He has also presented feature recitals at the Aspen Music Festival and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. He has also represented Canada as a cultural ambassador in the 2006 Athens Olympics, and was a featured performer at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies.
Adrian helped to create the Virtual Chamber Music Initiative at the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehab Centre. The cross-collaborative project brings researchers, musicians, doctors and educators together to develop adaptive musical instruments capable of being played by a young person with disabilities within a chamber music setting. He is also the founder of the Music Inclusion Program, aimed at having children with disabilities learn instrumental music with their typical peers. From 2012-2016, he was the co-Director of Music at the Conservatory Lab Charter School, serving students from the Boston area, kindergarten through grade eight—his work was recognized by Mayor Marty Walsh as a ONEin3 Impact Award in 2015.
Adrian is also Juno Award nominee, a member of the Terry Fox Hall of Fame, and was awarded a Diamond Jubilee Medal from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to the Commonwealth. In 2022, he was honored by the Kennedy Center as one of a Next50 leader, recognizing individuals who are shaping the arts and culture sector in the United States. Adrian is the current Chair of Music at Milton Academy and the Artistic Director of Shelter Music Boston. Throughout the year, he continues to perform, speak and teach around the world as an advocate for disability and the arts.
Audience Health and Safety
Longwood Symphony, at its core, is deeply committed to the health and safety of our audience, musicians and staff.
Proof of vaccination is required for all guests. Masks are recommended.
All audience members must present proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 (including a BOOSTER for all who are eligible) upon arrival. Proof of a negative COVID-19 test will be allowed for children under the age of 5 only. Please visit our Health & Safety Guidelines page for more details and to review additional protocols.
Exchanges and ticket donations can be made up to 24 hours in advance of the originally ticketed concert date by emailing info@longwoodsymphony.org or calling 617-987-0100. We cannot guarantee the same seats will be available for the exchanged concert. Refunds will be offered if you are unable to exchange or donate. Subject to availability.
Discounts for groups of 10 or more are available. Please contact info@longwoodsymphony.org or call 617-987-0100 to arrange.
All programs are subject to change.